Is Aliexpress Safe and Legit? Learn How to Buy Safely from Aliexpress

Is Aliexpress safe? This question has been bothering many newbie entrepreneurs when its comes to find a reliable supplier from Aliexpress.

So, in response to this question about the legitimacy of Aliexpress, here is my precise answer:

Yes, Aliexpress is absolutely safe. It is a trustworthy website that offers all possible services to make it a reliable platform for both buyer and seller.

So, in case if you still have doubts about how safe is Aliexpess, or even have no idea what is Aliexpress then read the following write up thoroughly.

What is Aliexpress?

Aliexpress is one of the biggest online retail marketplaces owned by Chinese ecommerce conglomerates – Alibaba. It was launched in 2010 as an online retail service to supply Chinese products directly to the customers globally. Number of Chinese manufacturers and retailers use this platform to get access to international customers without any intermediary.

The interesting part of Aliexpress is that inland Chinese citizens cannot access or buy anything from Aliexpress it is exclusively for international audiences. For Chinese citizens, Alibaba groups different marketplace that is Taobao.

Products on Aliexpress are relatively much cheaper than on any other marketplace such as Amazon or eBay.

Related Post: Alibaba vs Aliexpress

Is it Safe to Buy from Aliexpress?

Yes, Aliexpress is a safe place to buy anything. Aliexpress buyer protection program makes it a much safer platform for the buyer as well as for sellers. In the buyer protection program, the seller is bound to ensure the genuineness of products and in case of any violation, the seller has to pay twice the amount of total product price.

The buyer becomes eligible for protection program under three condition if the seller refuses to refund or return:

1- The ordered item is different from recieved items in any scenario including size, composition, color, etc.

2- When the order does not arrive within the stated delivery time.

3- Receiving a fake item when the genuine one is promised.

How to Open a Dispute on Aliexpress

The process is quite straightforward. Just sign in to your Aliexpress account then go to ‘my Aliexpress’ and click on refunds and disputes.

After that, write the order number, supplier name, and select the dispute status. The seller has 15 days to negotiate and resolve the dispute. If the buyer and seller reached an impasse then the dispute is transfered to a claim and Aliexpress Case Management Team intervenes to reconcile the situation.

Related Post: Aliexpress Wiki – Important Questions and Answers

How to Buy Safely From Aliexpress

As I said, it is completely safe to buy from Aliexpress because of its extremely helpful buyer protection program. But the program is useful once you get into the trouble in buying from Aliexpress. So, would it not be better if you do not have to use the program at all?

Aliexpress does not sell anything it is a third party platform so there are changes you may find some rookie sellers or scammers. Therefore, here is a simple step by step guide of how to buy safely from Aliexpress:

Step # 1 – Register/ Sign in on Aliexpress

Aliexpress is free to sign up, you can get started buying from Aliexpress with just your email address and start shopping for the product.

Step # 2 – Go to Category or Search for Products

More 13 main categories and multiple sub-categories are available on Aliexpress from which you can select the best item. Also, you can search from the search engine of Aliexpress. Like here, I am looking for a ‘wireless security camera’ and thousands of suggestion comes in front of me.

Step # 3 – Sort the Results by Orders

Aliexpress shows search results based on the best match. You need to sort the results by orders so that the products sold the most times show up first. The most item sold is directly proportional to the trusted item.

Now, see the top results and check out the numbers of times sold and the reviews of the item. Majority of times the best selling item have over 4.5 rating which is a great trusting factor.

As you can see, all the items appear on top results sorted by orders have the best ratings.

Step # 4 – Check out Store Feedback and Top Brand Badge

The ‘top brand’ badge is a sign of a trusted Aliexpress store. Not every store gets the top brand badge so there are other indicators that can help you to validate the Aliexpress seller.

To check the store just click on the product and scroll down. You will see the little store detail on the left side.

Here I found the top brand badge on the first products I clicked. In case, the store does not have a top brand badge you can also validate by visiting the store and check its feedback.

The seller feedback tells alot about seller/supplier reliability such as the shipping speed, communication, and reliability.

Like here, JOAN Security has an overall 98% positive rating that is superb. You can check the feedback history from the last month to the last 6 months.

That’s how you can order safely from Aliexpress to anywhere in the world.

Wrapping Up:

In a nutshell, Aliexpress is one of the safest online marketplaces to use for personal shopping or use it as a supplier for your online businesses.

Aliexpress is the best source to supply products for dropshipping business and ecommerce store. Many dropshippers doubt its effectiveness when it comes to fast and cheap shipping but with the ePacket delivery option, that issue has been resolved.